


Watercolors

by vadfannypack



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: Angst, Drowning, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I love my boy, Mikey-centric - Freeform, Tc/st do not interact, This is def ooc or not idk I just felt like writing this lmao, oceans are not gucci, that moment when you almost drowned as a kid so you take that trauma out on your favorite character, which is why I am hurting him, would this be considered a vent fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:27:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27627439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vadfannypack/pseuds/vadfannypack
Summary: Mikey decides to visit the ocean.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 54





	Watercolors

**Author's Note:**

> Warning!!! (In case you didn’t read the tags) this fic is about a character drowning. In detail. So like, if you don’t like that please go away I don’t want you to feel bad ❤️

Michaelangelo’s family had always been overprotective of him. He couldn’t do anything they deemed “too dangerous” without one of them with him.

“Stay with your brothers.”

“Don’t stay out for too long.”

“Stay in the shallows.”

“Don’t go too far out.”

He was sick of it. He didn’t understand why they were always so worried. He was capable of taking care of himself, if only they’d actually let him.

Sighing, he frowned at the ocean waves crashing against the beach. 

Brilliant shades of orange and gold swirled along the water from the setting sun, almost hurting Mikey’s eyes from how bright it was.

He thought for a moment, before standing up and digging his heels into the wet sand. Water washed over his feet, burying them just a bit deeper into the sand with every wave.

He was just going to swim for a little bit, not too long.

He waded into the water, not stopping until it reached his chest. Looking back at the shore, he noted he wasn’t too far out, which sent a pang of annoyance through him and he kicked his leg at the sandy floor. He wanted to go further.

His eyes lit up when he remembered no one was with him.

He could go as far as he wanted.

A smile spread on his face. Swimming farther out to sea, he finally reached a spot where he couldn’t touch without going under. He sucked in a deep breath, and dove down.

The salty water irritated his eyes, but after blinking a few times he managed to keep them open.

Underwater, the only thing he could see was the sand below him and the seaweed growing from it. Anything beyond that was a dark blue mist. Kicking his legs, he glided through the sea as fast as he could, twirling and spinning with no direction in mind.

His head spinned, dizzy from all the fun, and he looked back from where he came from.

He couldn’t see the sand. Below him was only darkness.

A feeling of dread overwhelmed him, but he quickly pushed that to the back of his head. He couldn’t be that far away, he’s not that inattentive.

Looking up, he decided the best thing to do would be to get some air and swim back from above. That way he could see better. 

He pushed himself upwards, reaching up, his fingertips barely touching the surface. 

Something grabbed a hold of his ankle and dragged him down into the dark depths.

He flailed around and kicked his legs, but the grip on his ankle only tightened. He was thrown harshly onto the ocean floor. He tried searching for what had grabbed him but was only met with a large shadow in the clouds of sand that had been kicked up.

He lunged towards his attacker, clawing at their face to distract them long enough to get away. They brought down a large hand on his head, slamming him into the sand. His head throbbed as he attempted to get back up, but he was quickly pushed back down.

One of their knees sat on his chest while the other pinned down his arm. He grabbed at the figure, trying his best to get them off but they were far too big, and the pressure of the water and lack of oxygen weakened him.

He resorted to giving them a deadly glare. They were a large turtle, almost as big as Raphael, but far more frightening. Their mouth twisted into a snarl, lifting the smaller turtle up and shoving him back down.

A searing pain shot through his entire body, and he squeezed his eyes shut. Why did he have to come out here? Why couldn’t he have just listened to his family?

He blinked and shook his pounding head. Everything hurt, his head, his ears, his lungs, his heart, oh especially his heart. He just wanted to go home, he was so close, he just had to swim up. Up. Up.

He looked up.

Above him a foggy figure turned to face him. Mikey’s father appeared and stared down at him with a look of disappointment. A look of betrayal. 

Mikey desperately grabbed at him, but he couldn’t reach. He stared into his father’s eyes, tears forming in his own.

Only they weren’t his father's eyes.

His father had soft, dark brown eyes that comforted him when he was scared. They were trusting, and reassuring. These eyes were a cold and harsh blue, filled with a wild hatred that sent shivers down his spine.

The turtle above him let out a muffled screech, bubbles flurrying out and up from their mouth. They didn’t even seem to know what they were doing, or why they were doing it. They just were.

Despair and anger shot through his chest. Mustering up as much strength as he could, he knocked their knee off his arm and dug his fingers into their neck.

This only angered them.

They pushed and shoved at him, each time he crashed into the sand his entire body ached more and more.

He wanted to cry, he wanted to scream, he wanted to breathe. His last attempt at self preservation was digging his heels into the sand, trying to wiggle himself out from under the bigger turtle, but it was a useless decision that only weakened him.

His ears rang, the blood pounding in them. Black spots danced in his vision as the box turtle let go of his breath and inhaled sand and salty water. He coughed and sputtered but it was no use. There was no way out of this.

His attacker looked up in alarm, their head swiveling back and forth then their eyes landing on his chest. They pushed him away and sped off into the inky abyss.

His eyelids grew heavy, and the last thing he saw was the panic button over his heart blinking rapidly.

—

His eyes opened to the full moon shining over him. 

His lungs burned as he coughed up a mix of water and blood. He heaved out a sob.

“Mikey!” A voice called out to him. He couldn’t register who it was. “We got your distress signal-“

They kept talking, but the pain in his chest was too unbearable to listen.

A warm blanket was wrapped around him. No, not a blanket, it was too big for a blanket, and blankets weren’t green and spiky and shaky-

“Raph, he might be too shocked for physical contact right now-“

Donnie. Raph. His brothers.

“Mikey, thank goodness you’re okay-“

Leo. That had to be Leo.

A stinging sensation in his eyes started to form, and he didn’t realize he was crying until he let out a choked sob, burying his face into the crook of Raph’s arm. His brother used the other to rub his back, cooing soft reassurances to him.

The other two joined in the embrace. They stayed like this for a while, holding each other. Mikey’s breathing started to steady, and he started to laugh.

His brothers gazed down at him with equally terrified looks in their eyes. He had almost died, why was he so happy all of a sudden?

“Y’know,” Mikey wiped away his tears, sniffling. “I came out here just to spite you guys.”

A beat of uncomfortable silence passed as his brothers’ took in what he said.

Leo was the first to start giggling, pulling his little brother into another hug.

“You could have just stolen my PJs or something!” The slider scolded, giving him a light squeeze. Despite his joyful and relieved tone, tears welled in his eyes. His voice cracked when he added, “You didn’t have to go and almost kill yourself!”

Mikey choked out another laugh, but it morphed into a whimper. “I wanna go home, guys,”

His oldest brother helped him up onto his shoulders. Mikey rested his head in his arms, but Donnie made sure to keep him awake, just in case.

The ride back to the lair was long, but it was worth every second.

He was with his brothers. He could rest now.

He could breathe.


End file.
